Sections

Popular Festivals

Mike Love has hit back at the other members of the Beach Boys, insisting that he has not fired anyone from the band.

The Beach Boys have a famously fraught relationship. The group have been through more court cases than most artists have hits, but the decision to reform for a 50th anniversary tour seemed to indicate a thaw between members.

Sadly, it doesn't seem to have worked out that way. Last week Mike Love issued a statement explaining that the rest of the band would have no further involvement with the tour, sparking enormous confusion amongst fans. Brian Wilson hit back, insisting to CNN that the current line up was "the real Beach Boys".

Now Mike Love has given LA Times a statement (via Pitchfork), arguing that he has not - in fact - sacked anybody. "I did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He’s my cousin by birth and my brother in music... Our songs are in the DNA of America. Our imagery of the coast, surfing, cars and teenage freedom helped make our country the envy of the world."

Fair enough. Continuing, Mike Love inadvertently caused even more confusion. "Like any good party, no one wanted (the reunion tour) to end. However, that was impossible, given that we had already set up shows in smaller cities... It is not feasible, both logistically and economically, for the 50th anniversary tour to play these markets..."

"Initially, there was to be plenty of space between the two tours, but then we added 25 more dates and the two tours bumped up against each other. To avoid public confusion, and at the request of Brian’s representative, we had a press release sent out detailing the differences between the two Beach Boys tours and its varying lineups. I was surprised that Brian and Al said they were surprised by this announcement. Some media outlets interpreted all of this as me firing the band."